Mark Kashper
violin
About this Artist
Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia, Mark Kashper started taking violin lessons at the age of 5. In addition to being a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, where he was one of the last and favorite pupils of the legendary David Oistrakh, Kashper also graduated from Leningrad Conservatory.
In February 1978, Kashper arrived in the United States as a refugee and three months later won an audition to become a member of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In September 1979 he was promoted to the first violin section, and he became the orchestra’s Associate Principal Second Violin in May 1986. Between 2007 and 2011, Kashper led the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s second violin section as its Acting Principal.
Kashper is the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony’s founding principal concertmaster and a frequent featured soloist. He participated in the concerts of the Super World Orchestra under the direction of Lorin Maazel in 2001. In June 2006, Kashper represented the US in concerts of the World Philharmonic Orchestra.